Two Young Motorcyclists Set Fire to Old Hosseiniyeh in Darakeh

Following a fire at the old Hosseiniyeh in Darakeh, Tehran, which resulted in 80% damage, the governor of Shemiranat announced that the role of 'human factors' in this incident is 'established.' Iranian news agencies, including ILNA, reported that on the morning of Thursday, December 28, 'flammable material' was thrown inside the Hosseiniyeh, causing 70 to 80% damage inside. These reports indicate that the Darakeh Hosseiniyeh was equipped with surveillance cameras, which recorded images of 'two vandals.' The governor of Shemiranat County stated that the surveillance footage around the Hosseiniyeh shows 'the presence of two motorcyclists in the area.' Ezzatollah Khan Mohammadi told IRNA that 'the presence of human factors in this incident has been established, and the police and the Shemiranat precinct are investigating it.' According to him, the fire occurred at 1:45 AM on Thursday, and firefighters managed to control it, preventing its spread. This Iranian official then added that the belongings inside the Hosseiniyeh, including carpets and other items, were burned, 'but the structure of the Hosseiniyeh did not suffer significant damage.' Jalal Maleki, spokesperson for the Fire Department, also stated that this fire did not result in any casualties. The Darakeh Hosseiniyeh is one of the religious and historical sites in District 1 of Tehran, located in Shemiranat County. However, this site is not registered in the list of national cultural heritage sites. Mohammad Anshai, director of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Office of Shemiranat, told ISNA that this old Hosseiniyeh belongs to the contemporary period and 'has not even been registered as a site of value, but some old artifacts in this Hosseiniyeh have also been damaged.' In October, the entrance door of the 'Javad al-Aimah' mosque in Tehran and several banks were attacked by a number of youths. One day after the commander of the Greater Tehran Police announced that the perpetrators of the arson at the 'Javad al-Aimah' mosque had been arrested, a video of the burning of a door of a mosque named 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,' reportedly located in Tabriz, was published on social media. Hossein Rahimi, head of Greater Tehran Police, told the media that the arson of a mosque door in Tehran and attacks on several banks and ATMs were carried out by a number of youths 'under the influence of social media and satellites.' In the video released from this act on social networks, an individual first writes 'Restart' on the mosque wall and then uses flammable materials to set fire to the door labeled 'Mosque of Ali ibn Abi Talib.' The video ends with the slogan 'Long Live Hosseini.' Mohammad Hosseini, a former presenter of Iranian state television and a comedian living abroad for several years, has formed a campaign called 'Restart,' calling for attacks on centers such as banks, mosques, and Basij bases. He has declared the aim of these actions as an attempt to change the regime of the Islamic Republic. On October 18, IRNA reported that two perpetrators of the attack on the Iranian embassy in London had been arrested by the police. According to this report, on Saturday, October 14, the perpetrators of this attack wrote 'Restart' on the entrance wall of the embassy, and the police prevented further actions by these two individuals. In this context, a video was sent to Radio Farda showing an individual writing 'Restart' on the entrance door of the Iranian embassy in London and also throwing stones at the embassy window. However, it is still unclear whether the arson of the old Hosseiniyeh in Darakeh was carried out by supporters of Mohammad Hosseini or not.